The present invention relates to photographic developing machines in general, and more particularly to arrangements for introducting strips of photosensitive material from cassettes into such machines and for transporting such strips through the interiors thereof.
There are already known photographic developing machines in which the photographic material strips are being treated while passing through the interior of the machine in several paths situated next to one another, wherein the strip-shaped material is advanced through the various treating stations by means of an endless band or belt which travels along the respective path next to the respective strip and to which the leading end of the respective photosensitive strip is to be connected first before being entrained for joint movement with the band. In such machines, the photosensitive strip leading end is usually attached to the band by means of a clamp or clip in an attaching compartment which can be light-tightly separated from the interior of the machine and through which a section of the endless band passes. The attaching compartment can also be light-tightly sealed from the exterior of the machine by a latchable lid. The respective machine then may have an input passage or slot through which the photosensitive strip passes from the interior of the respective cassette which is light-tightly juxtaposed with a zone of the machine into a predetermined region of the interior of the machine which is situated to the attaching compartment, and a pivotable transferring member is provided which is operative for transferring the leading end of the respective strip which has been introduced through the input slot into the aforementioned region of the interior of the machine into the attaching compartment.
One such developing machine is known from the German Pat. No. 25 44 322. In this machine, the transferring member which guides the leading end of the respective photosensitive strip from the interior of the machine into the attaching compartment during the introducing phase of operation of the arrangement simultaneously serves as a separating member light-sealingly separating the attaching compartment from the interior of the machine as long as the lid is open for making the attaching compartment accessible for the performance of the attaching operation therein. However, due to the double function of the transferring member, there have been encountered problems, especially as far as the light-impermeability thereof is concerned. In addition thereto, the functional coupling of the light-sealed closure of the attaching compartment to the exterior and to the interior of the machine leaves much to be desired in the conventional machine of this type, especially since it can happen in some instances that, when the outer lid is opened too rapidly, the inner transferring member has not yet reached its full closed position, so that ambient light will penetrate into the interior of the machine where it may damage other photosensitive strips traveling in their respective paths.